


Blood & Sweat

by Flamedude



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Family Relationship (big sister and little brother)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7312138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamedude/pseuds/Flamedude
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing a boxing match to Lynn, Lincoln decides to train.</p><p>While Lynn is thrilled with her brother's determination, she can't help but be concerned with how he's taking his training.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood & Sweat

**Author's Note:**

> The Loud House belongs to Chris Savino and Nickelodeon.  
> \--  
> I would like to thank a friend that I recently made on Tumblr for making this possible. While I did indeed write this fanfic/fan-made episode, it was his idea to begin with. And it was through collaborating on ideas with him that this whole thing was made possible.
> 
> His tumblr blog can be found here: http://hi-welcome-to-my-realm.tumblr.com
> 
> I also would like to thank him for giving me the opportunity to start writing fanfiction again after being busy earning two AA's and getting a transfer degree to another school so I can earn my BA.
> 
> Since this is my first fanfic that I've written in a while, it's obvious that I may have gotten rusty. As such, I don't expect anyone to like this right off the bat.
> 
> Constructive criticism and reviews are welcome (emphasis on "constructive).
> 
> (Warning: mild blood)

Lynn's snoring stopped as soon as the sound of her alarm clock ringing reached her ears. After sleepily reaching her arm over to the alarm clock on the drawer next to her bed and putting an end to the ringing, the girl slowly sat upright.

She proceeded to stretch out her athletic body while giving out a little yawn, feeling her bones popping a bit. After rubbing both the sleepiness from her eyeballs and the drool running down her mouth, she looked at her clock, which she had set for seven this morning. After climbing out of bed, doing some morning stretches, and getting herself dressed, she silently made her way out of the bedroom.

After closing the door behind her gently to allow Lucy more time to sleep in, the sporty tomboy made her way downstairs, and went into the kitchen. After turning on the coffee machine to fix herself a cup o’joe, she got an apple out of a bowl to eat while waiting. And as soon as the machine filled her mug up, she poured some cream in as well a touch of sweetener to help with the flavor, after which, she threw the polished off apple into the trash.

"Saturday mornings are a blast," Lynn said to the audience as they were watching her, in-between sips of her coffee, "I mean, no school, no homework, and plenty of time for fun! What’s not to love about them?"  
Lynn grinned more enthusiastically as she set her mug down. “But I think one of the best parts is the fact that I get to bond with my little brother, Lincoln!” She put her hands on her hips, “Sure, he’s not as into sports as I am. Maybe even on the geeky side… But he’s MY favorite little geek!”

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps reached her ears.

“Speaking of which, I think that’s him now.” Lynn whispered to the audience, and quickly pressed herself against a wall next to the entrance to the living room. The footsteps became a bit louder as they got closer and closer to the kitchen.  
Soon enough, Lincoln walked into the kitchen in nothing but his pajamas. His somewhat drowsy state preventing him from noticing his older sister entirely, as he trudged over to the fridge and opened the door to it, looking for something to eat as a small breakfast.

Lynn, of course, silently crept over to her brother. And as soon as Lincoln found a granola bar, she saw the moment to strike. The instant Lincoln closed the fridge’s door and started munching on the granola bar, Lynn had put an index finger in her mouth, making sure to get it good and wet...

 

And then proceeded to stick it into Lincoln’s left ear.

 

The boy’s eyes widened as he felt the sensation of a wet finger enter his ear uninvited, giving out a yelp of disgust as he immediately went over to the kitchen sink to wash the saliva out.

“Hehehehe! Gotcha little bro!” Lynn laughed with mirth in her voice.

“Was that really necessary?!” Lincoln asked irritably as he put a paper towel under the running faucet. After turning the faucet back off, he used the now wet towel to start washing the saliva out of his ear.

“It woke you up, didn’t it?” Lynn asked him cheekily as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him into the living room.

The two siblings took a seat on the couch, where Lynn took the paper towel from Lincoln after he’d finished. Rolling it up into a ball, and proceeding to throw it into the trash can in the kitchen all the way from the couch.

“Got any nerd stuff planned this weekend bud?” Lynn teasingly asked Lincoln as she brought him closer to her.

Lincoln rolled his eyes at her question as he thought about it carefully, “Hmm.. There hasn’t been a new issue of Ace Savy out yet. Clyde’s gone out with his dads for today. And I’m also pretty sure that the model biplane kit I ordered has yet to arrive.”

“Which leaves you and I to hang out today!” Lynn beamed, glad to know that her brother was available for today, “So, how’s about you and I go out and practice a little bit of boxing out in the backyard? It’s been a while since the last time we did that. I kinda wanna see how much you’ve improved!”

“Well, I suppose so since I don’t have anything better to do.” Lincoln rubbed his shoulder in thought, before he felt Lynn take him by the hand and lead him away from the couch.

“Excellent!” Lynn enthusiastically exclaimed.

* * *

 

A few minutes later of course, they already gotten things ready and went outside to the backyard.

Both siblings were decked out in tank-tops, shorts, and some athletic shoes. Lynn, of course, had made sure to give Lincoln a padded boxing helmet, since he was still a beginner (especially when compared to her).

And after facing each other, the two touched gloves, as is usually customary before a boxing match.

“You ready, Linc?” Lynn asked him, slamming her fists together in anticipation.

Lincoln simply replied with a nod.

After the two each got into an upright stance, Lynn was the first on the offense, prodding at Lincoln with some short jabs to the face to test his defense. Lincoln, naturally, kept his arms up to guard his face.

“Your guard’s definitely improved a bit. Though, I think it could feel more solid with more work..." Lynn advised Lincoln as she kept prodding at his defense.

The instant the jabs stopped, Lincoln threw a left hook in an attempt to catch Lynn off guard, only for her to easily avoid it by moving back. The instant he tried again, she swiftly got behind him, and got him in a bit of a chokehold.

“Nice try with the sneak attack. But trust me Linc, you’re gonna have to do better than that if you wanna land a hit on your big sister!” Lynn taunted with an amused smile on her face.

 

Lincoln gave her a look of indignation as he fought to get out of her hold. As soon as she released her hold on Lincoln and pushed him away a bit, she allowed him to charge at her again.

Lynn laughed as she ducked under a right haymaker, and countered with a quick uppercut to his unguarded face. Thankfully, due to her using some muscle control (as well as Lincoln’s headgear absorbing some of the blow's impact), that it only stunned the boy, otherwise he’d be on the grass, picking up his teeth.

Lincoln’s determination seemed to surprisingly grow as he shook off his dizziness and kept on going. Lynn blinked at this, but her speed and reaction time thankfully allowed her to avoid a rather sloppy right cross by leaning to the left and countering with a quick two punch combo to his chest, knocking him flat on his butt.

This, of course was followed by Lincoln growling under his breath as he was quickly getting up, now becoming a bit more desperate as he charged at her with an overhead swing. Only for Lynn to lower herself in a crouched stance, and send a simple but effective straight jab into Lincoln’s belly. She put just enough strength behind the punch to hopefully knock him off his feet and have him land flat on his back, but not so much that it would seriously hurt him.

As much as she’d like to boast of her victory, that plan was put to a halt as soon as she saw that her brother was still on the ground, coughing and gasping air. She may not’ve caused any serious injuries, but she definitely knocked the wind right out of him with that punch.

She immediately reached down, grabbed his hand to pull him up. Just as it looked like he’d be standing on his feet, he stumbled a bit, still coughing and gasping as he held his stomach.

“You okay Linc?” Lynn asked, taking her and Lincon’s gloves off.

“I.. Can.. Keep.. Going!” Lincoln said each word between coughs and gasps, placing his hands on his knees as he coughed at the ground.

 _Must’ve slugged him a bit harder than I wanted to,_ Lynn thought to herself, patting her brother on the back as she handed him a water bottle, “I think we’re done for now Lincoln. It’s not worth you coughing up a lung like that.. But hey, you lasted slightly better than last time! You’re still a beginner, but at least you’re making progress!”

After taking a couple gulps of water, and catching his breath, Lincoln looked at her. From the way his eyes moved from the ground for a moment, it seemed like he was thinking of something.

“Something on your mind bro?” Lynn asked Lincoln, who then looked at her straight in the eye.

“Well.. I'm just..  Thinking… About how I’m gonna train. So that I can get as good as you..” Lincoln gave her a small reassuring smile.

Lynn would’ve felt surprised at his words, were that surprise not overwhelmed by a great sense of pride growing in her chest from his words.

“I'm looking forward to it Lincoln... But, you've still got a long way to go before you get as good as me!” Lynn said, pulling the boy in, giving him a noogie.

“Lynn, quit it! You’re messing up my hair!” Lincoln said to her halfheartedly, trying and failing to suppress a boyish grin.

“Why don’t you make me, champ?” Lynn asked tauntingly .

“Y-you’re out of your mind, y’know that?!” Lincoln said as he endured his sister’s knuckles grinding against his scalp, while struggling to escape the headlock that was firmly keeping him in place.

“Oh, so you just NOW figured that out!” Lynn cackled madly, continuing her onslaught atop the younger boy’s head.

* * *

 

At first, things were like they usually were. 

Whenever Lincoln was available he would help Lynn practice for a football and basketball game. Interestingly enough, Lincoln actually seemed to have more pep in his movements than he usually did. 

Lincoln also seemed to be keeping his promise from when they were out boxing.

Sometimes she saw him do shadow boxing whenever he thought no one was watching, as well as various other physical exercises. He even took up some jogging, whether it was him coming home from school or on Sundays. She even occasionally joined him if she got the chance, though Lincoln insisted that he'd be fine on his own. 

Oddly enough, whenever he was training there was always some sort of training montage music playing whenever Lincoln was training, though both he and Lynn dismissed that as it being Luna's doing.

Whatever it was that got her brother driven to improve himself, she was liking it.

Honestly, she couldn't help but feel like one of the best big sisters to ever live for helping her brother ignite that spark inside of him. 

* * *

 

Lynn looked outside the window at the sky, where the sun was slowly starting to set. Frowning a little, she looked at her wristwatch as she read the time.

 

**5:10 PM**

 

Usually, whenever Lincoln was walking home from school, he always got there before it was even 3:30 PM.  Recently, however, he'd been coming home later than usual, today being no exception, as her brother walked up the porch, and opened the front door. He slowly walked into the house, his breathing heavy, the bags under his eyes more prominent, and practically drenched with sweat as he went straight for the stairs, giving a bit of a wince with each step, his right leg slightly dragging behind .

"Lincoln, it's almost dinner time... Aren't you even a little bit hungry?" Lynn asked her little brother, raising an eyebrow.

"Mmm'all right, not really hungry..." Lincoln grumbled to her as he walked up the stairs. As soon as he came up the final step, he began walking straight down the hall to where the bathroom was. He gripped his right hip, gritting his teeth slightly before continuing his trek down to the bathroom as if nothing was wrong.

 This, unfortunately, did nothing to put Lynn at ease. If anything, it only succeeded in sounding the alarms in her head as she quickly got up from the couch and dashed upstairs to Luna and Luan's room. Luna was busy tuning up her guitar when Lynn knocked on the door, and was allowed to come in.

"Hey Lynn, what's up?" Luna asked her younger sister, "Is anything a-okay with you?"

"It's Lincoln. He just came home late again." Lynn said to her.

"Did Linc say he wasn't hungry again?" Luna asked Lynn, who gave her a nod of confirmation. "I'm also guessing he also looked sore and exhausted like the last couple of days?"

"Yeah, but it was worse!" Lynn rubbed the back of her neck, panic evident in her voice, "He was walking with a limp when he got home!"

"D-did he say why?" Luna nervously raised an eyebrow at Lynn's statement, not liking where she was going with this.

 "He won't even talk to me or hang out, much less tell me why we haven't seen Clyde in awhile! Something's obviously seriously wrong here, but I just don't know what to do!" Lynn's voice cracked, overwhelmed with anxiety. 

 The rocker girl grew a more serious expression, putting her guitar aside as she sat up straight on her bed. "Where is he right now?"

"He limped over to the bathroom, to shower I think." Lynn replied.

Luna furrowed her brow as she started thinking, until she came up with something. "I'll talk to Lori after dinner. In the meantime, see if you can convince Mom and Dad to have Lincoln stay home for tomorrow. In the state he's in, I don't think he'll be up for school."

Lynn didn't even have to respond as she dashed out of the room in search of their parents.    

* * *

 

During the night, while everyone was in bed, Lynn did her best to get as much sleep as she could.

Her mind being overwhelmed with thoughts on how obsessive Lincoln had been with training recently, however, was making it difficult. Her brother's condition wasn't helping much, especially considering that he looked even thinner than he usually was. As she was sleeping, however, she felt herself being shaken.

"Lynn... Lynn wake up."

Slowly opening her eyes, Lynn turned her head to see that the one who woke her up was none other than Lucy.

"I heard something outside our room. I checked it out, and saw that Lincoln's door was open. I can't find him anywhere in the house... But it looked like he went out through the front door." Lucy said with a hint of worry in her normally stoic voice.

Lynn instantly sat up with an alarmed look in her eyes, looked at her alarm clock, then back to her younger sister. Making sure to keep her voice down, she exclaimed "What does he think he's doing?! It's five minutes until four thirty!" 

Lucy stepped back as Lynn quickly got out of bed, letting the older girl quickly put a jacket and her shoes on. Before the goth girl said anything, Lynn put a hand on her shoulder, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"I need you to stay here Lucy. I'm gonna go get Luna, after that we'll bring him back kicking and screaming if we have to." 

Lucy nodded as Lynn hurriedly opened the bedroom door and rushed out to Luna and Luan's room. 

* * *

 

Roughly over ten minutes after he snuck out of the house, Lincoln was still in his pajamas and wearing his shoes as well as a hoodie, jogging down the neighborhood with a limp as he panted a bit heavily, even shaking somewhat from the strain. No matter how much it seemed to hurt, he did his best to ignore the pain as he drank from his water bottle. After putting it back in the pocket of his jacket, he started swinging a couple of different punches while continuing his nightly jog.

But just as he was about to make a turn around a corner, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head away from the corner and looked to the left from where he was, only to see that, to his surprise, two figures from a distance up ahead that were walking. The two suddenly stopped, apparently having seen him. It wasn't until they started jogging towards him and in a better light that his surprise turned to shock as he saw that the two figures were, in fact, Lynn and Luna. Both of them in their pajamas, wearing jackets...

 

And none too happy by the looks of things.

 

The boy panicked as he immediately ran around the corner and down the sidewalk, attempting to get away. The adrenaline in his bloodstream being the only thing that even allowed him to run as fast as he was. But in doing so, it worsened the burning feeling in his leg muscles, the agonizing pain practically shooting up his spine. Despite his best attempts to ignore the pain as he grimaced, the pain still nonetheless slowed him down.  

As soon as she saw this, Lynn used an extra burst of speed to get closer to Lincoln, wrapping around his chest with both arms and pulled him back. Try as he might, Lincoln couldn't squirm out, thanks to his sister's brute strength keeping him in place. Lynn tightened her hold further, and carried him over to Luna. Luna, of course, took him out of Lynn's grasp as soon as she released Lincoln, grabbing him by the scruff of his hoodie and holding him so that only the tips of his toes were barely touching the ground.

"H-hey girls!" Lincoln nervously greeted his big sisters with a wave as he somewhat hung from the rocker girl's grasp on his jacket, "F-fancy seeing you out here..."

Lincoln was only met with chilling silence. Each girl gave him an expression that let him know that, without even a shadow of a single doubt, he wasn't going talk himself out of this one, no matter what excuse he'd try and make up on the spot. Which is why he felt his heart jump out of his chest when Luna spoke. 

"Lincoln, do you have any idea what time it is?" Luna asked Lincoln firmly.

"I… Uh.. Well, I guess it's-" Lincoln stammered as he looked for an answer.

"It's past four thirty in the morning.." Lynn answered for her brother in a sharp whisper. "It's a lot earlier than I get up, and a **hell** lot earlier than you should be!"

"Would you mind telling us why you're out here jogging so early in the morning, when you should be in bed?" Luna asked Lincoln as she proceeded to then lower him down and place his feet back on the ground, but nonetheless kept a firm grip on the hoodie so he wouldn't try and get away.

"W-well I have to keep in shape and keep my blood pumping.." Lincoln said.

The girls' eyes visibly widened, their faces looking slightly paled at his words.

"Lincoln, have you even looked at yourself lately?! You've been skipping meals to the point where you're looking thinner than before! I could probably even see and count your ribs if I wanted to!" Luna said with panic in her eyes.  

"You're shaking and twitching, just from standing up!" Lynn grasped Lincoln by the shoulders, pointing down at his shaky and slightly throbbing legs, "Seriously, your legs look like they're about to explode any minute! You've pumped enough!"

"W-well, no pain no gain, r-right?.." Lincoln asked.

"Lincoln, no! You're not going to 'gain' anything by straining yourself needlessly the way you've been doing!" Lynn argued, her voice somewhat trembling. 

"I-" Before Lincoln could continue, he instinctively brought a hand to his mouth. He then slipped out of the girls' grasp, and emptied his stomach into some bushes while holding himself up by placing a hand on a fence. His sisters walked over to him, each one comforting him, both of them rubbing his back.

He collapsed to his knees soon after he finished, too exhausted to argue as he coughed and breathed heavily, sweat going down his face. His sisters knelt down with him, holding him in their arms in a protective embrace. Eventually, after a couple more minutes, Lincoln soon passed out in their arms. Luna sighed with relief, stroking the boy's white hair as she looked at his sleeping face.

"Time to go back to bed, bubba…" Luna warmly whispered into his ear before giving him a peck on his forehead. 

Lynn easily lifted Lincoln up in her arms, with one arm under the boy's skinny legs and the other supporting his back. Both of the girls couldn't help but smile as they looked at their little brother while he slept peacefully, remembering all the times they and the rest of the older sisters would each have a turn carrying the little guy to bed when he was younger.

With their younger brother safe and sound, they made their way back to the house.

* * *

 

 Sometime later after school, Lynn was in her and Lucy's room. She was currently laying on her bed, throwing a rubber ball to the ceiling and letting fall back down. She caught it in her hands each time, but it did nothing to take her mind off her brother.

 _Why?… Just…. Why?_  She thought to herself as she threw the ball up and caught it for the umpteenth time.  _Why would he be so willing to risk seriously hurting himself like that? Even I wouldn't go that far! It… It just doesn't make a lick of sense to me..._

The sound of of footsteps snapped the girl out of her thoughts, letting the ball bounce off of her chest. She then hopped off the bed and walked to the door, opening it up to see that Leni had just passed by her room and went over Lincoln's room, with what appeared to be a considerably sized glass of what appeared to be a fruit smoothie (complete with a straw) in her hand. Lynn figured the smoothie was for Lincoln, considering how little he'd been eating recently. 

"Is it okay if I help out a bit? I might be able to get him to drink that smoothie…" Lynn whispered to her.

Leni nodded as she quietly opened the door and walked in, allowing Lynn to follow her into the room, where Lincoln was still in bed, sleeping. 

"I'll wait for you downstairs… Hopefully you'll, like, totally be able to make him drink the whole thing…" Leni said to Lynn softly, and left, closing the door behind her quietly.

Lynn looked at the smoothie Leni concocted as she sat on the bed, and gave a smile of approval. It appeared to be a carefully blended mixture of raspberries, blackberries, and mulberries, all three of which that provided protein.

First things first, she had to wake Lincoln.

"Psst, wake up bro.." Lynn gently shook him awake, satisfied that she got his eyes slowly opening up. She then helped him sit up, causing him to mumble in confusion as he looked at his older sister. 

Lynn gently kept him in place with one hand on his shoulder, and used the other hand to hold the smoothie in front of his face. 

"It's okay I-"  Lincoln was interrupted with a finger gently pressed 'gainst his lips. 

"Don't wanna hear it Lincoln…" Lynn said with a tone of voice that surprised her younger brother with how firm it felt. "Leni, made this specifically for you to drink. It's good for you." 

Lincoln nervously smiled. "Really, I-"

"Linc…" Lynn interrupted him "You _need_ to drink this. I'm not gonna leave until you drink every last drop."

Lincoln grumbled irritibly, "Lynn, I don't-"

"I mean it Lincoln.." Lynn raised an eyebrow with a serious look on her face. "Unless you want me to pin you down and spoon-feed it to you..."  

Lincoln sighed in defeat, knowing that she'd likely follow through with that statement if he didn't comply. Wincing with discomfort, his arms appeared to be throbbing slightly, he took the glass up, and start sipping the beverage through the straw, sitting there in silence as his sister watched him drink.

Eventually, after ten minutes of finishing the drink had passed, she let him sleep. Taking the now empty glass downstairs with her, and into the kitchen where Leni was waiting.

The bubbly girl beamed as she saw the glass, "You did it! You're like, so awesome Lynn!" 

"It's no prob… All he needed was a bit of a nudge." Lynn said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck.

"With, like, enough smoothies in his little tummy, he'll totes be feeling better in no time!" Leni proclaimed, giggling giddily as she went to writing down any possible smoothie recipes to help provide Lincoln with the nutrition he needed.

Lynn shook her head with amusement, but was still glad that Leni was being so helpful. Especially with the state Lincoln was currently in…

Still, she had a sinking feeling that she'd need to keep an eye on him.

* * *

 

The next day, on a cool, Saturday morning, at approximately six o'clock or so…

Lynn was already awake, stretching the sleepy feeling out of her body, getting out of bed opening the door slightly when she saw the unmistakable shaky figure of her brother as he was  creeping downstairs, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Realizing what he had planned, Lynn stealthily crept out of the room, and stopped at the top step of the staircase as she watched Lincoln walk to the door. And just as his hand turned the door knob...

"Where do you think you're going?" Lynn asked as she narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. 

Lincoln nearly jumped out out of his shoes as he slowly turned his head to face her, "Just.. Just going out for a bit, that's all. I-" 

"Yeahhhh, I don't think you'll be doing that at all..." Lynn said bluntly, as she kept her arms crossed.

"You're not the boss of me…" Lincoln said with an exasperated look on his face. His hand tightening its grip on the doorknob.

"No. But I'm your big sister, and you need to listen to me!" Lynn retorted as she threw her arms to her side in frustration.

"I can't stay in shape by staying in bed." Lincoln said. "I'd think you of all people would be agreeing with me on this!"

"Lincoln, wanting to be fit is one thing. **Crippling** yourself is entirely different!" Lynn cried.

"Who said anything about being crippled?!" Lincoln replied, ignoring the pain in his legs. 

"Lincoln if you keep straining yourself like this, you could wind up destroying your body!" Lynn said, her face betraying fear. 

"You just don't want your little brother to outshine you!" Lincoln said without even thinking. "You want me to stay the same little punching bag that anyone can push around!"

"No, I want my little brother to stop what he's about to do or he'll wind up putting himself six feet under!" Lynn's said angrily, but stopped. She then visibly relaxed, exhaling out as she continued talking in a more calm tone of voice. "Lincoln.... I suggest you turn around, march your butt back to bed and keep resting. It's for your own good, bro..."

Instead of doing as she told him, Lincoln defiantly swung open the door and ran out. Lynn didn't even have to think about it, as she rushed down the stairs after her brother. Lincoln's head start managed to keep him ahead to an extent as he ran down the sidewalk, powered entirely on adrenaline, now allowing him to completely ignore the excruciating pain in his legs. But Lynn wasn't considered the most athletic of the Loud family for nothing, as she was very easily able to keep up with him, the powerful muscles in her legs propelling her towards her brother. At times when she ran, it almost looked like she was soaring through the air. 

Lincoln briefly turned his head to see that his sister was getting closer, not even going at her full speed. No matter what corner he went 'round, what obstacle he had to jump over, and so on… His sister didn't even look remotely close to breaking a sweat, while Lincoln's face was drenched with it. Eventually, the chase had ended when Lynn had swiftly ran up ahead and cut her brother off before he could go any further.     

"This is as far as you go…" Lynn said, with her arms spread out.

"Get out of the way Lynn!" Lincoln yelled at her.

 Lynn didn't budge from her spot. "Let's just go back to the house and end this."

"You go back!" Lincoln yelled, his face red with anger., "I'm gonna work hard until I'm just as good as you!"

"Stop this right now Lincoln, I mean it!" Lynn said, acting like a stone wall as she intercepted him and blocked his path no matter how hard he tried to walk past her.

"Shut up!" Lincoln as he persistently tried to get by, his fists now clenched until the knuckles were white.

"Everyone's probably wondering where we are right now!" Lynn reasoned with him, "Linc, don't do something you're going to-"

Lynn's reflexes kicked in as she leaned back to avoid a right hook. Lynn looked at her brother, surprised that he'd even think of doing that. But upon closer look at his face, it was clear that he wasn't thinking straight at all. She breathed out calmly, putting her hands in her pockets as she showed zero intention on actually fighting her own brother.. 

Lincoln shouted wildly as he rushed at her, throwing a haymaker that she avoided by moving to the side. Lynn proceeded to duck when he threw a left cross, leaving an opening she could've just as easily exploit by aiming a strong uppercut or a straight jab. But she didn't…

 

Not on her own brother. Not while he was like this, and certainly not when he was in so much pain, no matter how much adrenaline he had coursing in him.

 

It wasn't even so much a fight anymore, as it was a dance. Lincoln was on the offense the entire time, his eyes filled with enough rage to nearly rival Lori's, as the adrenaline fueled him, making him faster than usual. But Lynn was far faster, more skillful, more experienced. As hard as Lincoln tried, no matter how many basic techniques he threw at Lynn, he didn't even land a single hit on her. To add salt to the wound, she didn't even have to take her hands out of her pockets. 

That's when Lincoln decided on doing something different… He lowered his stance and began to aggressively weave his body in a pattern similar to the shape of a figure eight. 

 _He's not doing what I think he's doing, is he?!_ Lynn thought, her face turned slightly paler as she watched him move in such a manner. Suddenly, Lincoln started firing a series of rapidly executed punches while continuing his bobbing and weaving.  _Holy... He's really trying to do a Dempsey Roll!_  

This technique, created by the legendary boxer, William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey, was reknowned in the world of boxing for a reason. A major factor of this technique lay in weight shifting and full rotation of the back and hips, allowing for some considerable power behind the rabidly executed punches. A particularly experienced boxer could use the bobbing aspect of the technique in order to land punches while in an opponent's blind spots, thus allowing them to hit the opponent without being seen. 

An experienced boxer, however, was something Lincoln wasn't. As such, he was unaware that the biggest weakness of this technique, was that in the hands of someone who lacked experience,  it can be easy to counter with a predictable, highly readable and repetitive rhythm as well as pace.   

Which is why Lynn was avoiding all of Lincoln's punches so well, only ever occasionally even needing to block and parry.

"WHY-" Lincoln was about to shout while Lynn dodged to the side, when he stopped in mid-step. His pupils dilated as he stood there, frozen in place.

Time seemed to have slowed down for the both of them, as Lynn watched him in shock. That is, until Lincoln collapsed to the ground, and started coughing up a bit of blood with shaky and heavy breathing.  

The older girl's face turned as white as her brother's hair as she watched him, now on the ground, covered in not only sweat, but the blood that ran down his mouth. His face was contorted in pain as he lay there, every single one of his muscles now completely throbbing. 

 

"LINCOLLLLLLLN!!"

* * *

 

 The entire family sat in silence at the hospital, anxiety washing over them as they thought about the condition that Lincoln was in while he lay in bed. Eventually, it was Lynn's turn to see him, she swallowed a bit and walked into the room that her brother was staying at, albeit glad to be able to get away from the smell of disinfectant that filled the hall. She proceeded to sit by his side, looking down at Lincoln's unconscious face as he lay in that bed, ignoring the sound of monitors checking his vitals while watching over him with sadness in her eyes. Her attention turned to her younger brother's near skeletal body, wincing a bit as his muscles continued throbbing, even when he was asleep.

 _My brother's here because of me!_ Lynn mentally berated herself as her eyes watered. _I let the thought of him and me being full time sport buddies blind me, when I should've been supervising him and stopping him from straining himself from the st-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a boyish groan, causing her to reflexively wipe away tears from her eyes as she saw Lincoln slowly start opening his eyes.

"Lynn?… Where-"

"You're in the hospital, bro…" Lynn said to him. "I managed to get you back home after you collapsed. Dad called the hospital as soon as he and Mom saw you…"

"Wh-"

"The girls are sitting outside the room as well. They're gonna be beyond glad that you've woken up." Lynn chuckled as she tousled his hair, with Lincoln giving a smile that faded as soon as it formed.

"By the way, Lynn?"

"Yeah Linc?"

Lincoln's expression became more somber as he looked up at her directly in the eyes. "I… I'm sorry that I lashed out like that."      

"Lincoln, it-"

"Lynn, it's not okay…" Lincoln said, his face looking more heavy than usual as he sat himself up, wincing from the pain in his arms. "You were trying to help me. Even after you and Luna brought me back home, I didn't listen to you when I should've!"

"I don't hold anything against you Lincoln. You were just as exhausted up here," Lynn gently tapped the side of Lincoln's head for emphasis, "as you were physically."

"But i-it's like nothing else mattered except working myself to the bone so I could stop being the nerdy toothpick of the family! For once I wanted to be worth SOMETHING! Not just be the comic book loving geek! But I-I guess... Even when I try to improve myself.. I'm always going to be a disappointment..." 

Lincoln's eyes watered, the tears traveling down his face. At those words, Lynn put both hands on his shoulders.

"I don't wanna hear those words coming from you again Lincoln." Lynn softly said to him, wiping a tear away from his face with a thumb. "Because you're not a disappointment. Not to me, Mom and Dad, Lori, or anyone else. Sure, I might've been thrilled at the thought having a sport buddy, but that doesn't matter right now.

"I don't care if you're the biggest nerd I know, or if you're a star player. You're my little brother Linc. I would never be ashamed of you...." 

Lincoln let the tears flow down harder than before as Lynn pulled him in closer, embracing her brother.

They didn't notice the rest of their family watching them from the door, smiling at the display.

* * *

 

Everyone was relieved to hear that Lincoln hadn't damaged his body beyond repair.

"He just needs plenty of rest and nutrition in his system, just like before.." The doctor told them. "I highly recommend that he not do anything strenuous during the recovery process. Otherwise, he'll end up back here."

With that, everyone, Lincoln included, soon drove home from the hospital. 

The recovery would take a while, but it'd be worth it, since the girls would be there for him every step of the way. Whether it was Lisa monitoring his progress and building a special portable crutch for him to use should he need to make a trip to the bathroom, Leni making smoothies for him to drink, and so on.

* * *

 

A couple of weeks had gone by since the accident, with Lincoln recovering steadily and feeling his bodily pain numbing, however slowly it was.

Lincoln looked out the window from the couch in the living room. Blue birds were sitting on a branch on a nice sunny day, making him huff a bit out of envy.

"Hey bud.." Lynn greeted him as she leaped over from the other side, and sat next to him, thankful that his crutch wasn't on the side she was sitting on. "How're you holding up?"

"The birds are mocking me..." Lincoln fumed as he glared at the oh-so innocent looking little birds.

Lynn chuckled as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I know it's annoying, but you can't strain yourself, remember?"

"I don't even want to jog or anything like that.. I just.. Wanna get some fresh air. Can't get that cooped up in here." Lincoln shook his head with a sigh.

"I think I know how we can fix that.." Lynn said with smirk.

"Really?" Lincoln asked. "How?"

"Just grab your crutch, you'll see.."

After doing as she said, all of the sudden, within the blink of an eye, Lincoln found himself being lifted onto Lynn's shoulders and carried over to the door.

"What the-"

"Y'know, it's been three years since I've carried you like this.. I think it's about time I started doing this again." Lynn gave him a grin.

As she opened the door, widening it further, Lincoln himself couldn't help but give out a grin of his own as he allowed Lynn to walk with him out the door, riding on her shoulders, being sure to close the door behind them. And naturally, being as strong as she was, he didn't weigh a thing to her.

With brother in hand (or on shoulders as it were), Lynn began her stroll with her brother, with the sun shinning down at them. 


End file.
